Gummi Bears Generations
by Argumedies
Summary: not sure if I'm going to continue this one
1. Foundations

This story is a fan fiction based on the Disney creation and is not for profit. I do not own anything outside of my imagination. Gummi Bears is a trade mark of the Walt Disney Corporation all right reserved.. yada, yada. This story is a fan fiction created for enjoyment only and is not for sale, all known characters belong to Walt Disney. Those I have created for the story come from my imagination and apologies to any that resemble someone else's unknown work. This is also not a cutesy story and it contains some harsh realities, mild adult themed content and some violent acts. It is suggested for mature audiences.

I hope that covers it.

**Gummi Bears**

**Generations**

_ "They say that love is an ocean of secrets that can only be unlocked when we look beyond its surface and into the depths of the heart."_

**Chapter 1**

**Foundations**

The seagulls soared on the winds as the old sailing vessel moved across the harbor. The sun shined warmly in the early summer of the Atlantic Ocean as the boat made its way into the English coast.

_"Look Alive men!"_ Someone shouted as Christopher ran to the bow of the ship; his bright white tee-shirt and red shorts flapped in the breeze as he enthusiastically climbed atop the railing to watch the mountains peek over the horizon.

They were staggeringly huge he thought as he the ship made it way closer to the harbor. He had never seen such huge mountains in his life and if for only this he was happy his grandfather had brought him along on this expedition.

His Grandfather, Robert T. Lon, archeologist and an historian of ancient mythologies, stood at its helm and slowed the vessel into position. Rob was an elderly gentleman with short jet black hair. He wore his light tan uniform that he picked up in a little shop in Botswana last year while digging for bones and fossils.

Traveling the globe, he has become almost a famous internationalist of discovering lost antiquities and ancient civilizations when he discovered an ancient emblem bearing a small resemblance to another old family crest on the old English farm outside of Davinshire.

_"Come along lad"_ his Grandfather, shouted as the ship pulled into the dock.

Christopher jumped from the rail and headed for the plank. Moments later he found himself in the front seat of the truck his grandfather purchased from a local merchant, and soon they were off for the dig sight.

As they drove through the English countryside, the long winding roads soon gave way to rolling hills and deep forests. Through several small villages and past ancient castles that dotted the landscape with eerie reflections of times past when knights in shining armor fought great battles on the fields of wars long forgotten.

They made their way deep into the forests outside the village of Davinshire and onto the dig site. The crew had been digging here for months looking for artifacts of an old battlefield. Davinshire used to have a huge castle a long time ago but there was nothing much left of it except some basic stone foundations on the outskirts of the old village.

The place smelled of peat and wet mud as they came to a stop at the banks of a small pond. Christopher climbed out of the truck and walked to the water's edge and climbed out onto a fallen log underneath a huge old oak tree to get a better view while his grandfather went and talked to the coordinator of the dig.

The water was warm has he splashed around at the water's edge only to be drowned out by the bark and splash of the bullfrogs. He sat down on the log and removed his socks and shoes so he could walk in the water and feel the mud squish between his toes He loved to chase the frogs from their lily pads and watch them try to hide from him in the reeds.

As he reached down a picked up a small stone to skip across the water, he spied the one frog that had braved the boys' intrusion.

Chris crept closer to the frog getting down onto his knees, cupping his hands to capture the frog. With the quickness of his youth he covered the frog and picked him up in his hands. The frog squirmed and tried desperately to hop away from his captor but to no avail. The boy was just too strong.

_"Grandpa, Look what I caught!"_ he yelled. And ran up the bank back to his grandfather's side, but when he got there the frog had stopped its struggle. In his haste he had squeezed the frog too tightly. His grandfather looked down at the frog and then at him in disappointment.

_"Come with me boy."_ They walked into one of the tents and Robert found a small pail and placed a little water in the bottom. He took the frog from Chris's hands and placed it in the pail. The frog soon gained it bearing and sat up in the bottom of the pail.

_"You almost crushed it!"_ he scolded.

_"I'm sorry Grandpa. I didn't intend to hurt it."_

Rob placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and knelt down in front of the boy. _"Remember, everything we do sets into motion events that will play on events yet to come."_

"_Take this dig for example. Even way out here deep in the woods, you wouldn't think anyone has ever been here before. The only things you see are the trees. But some of these trees are four or five hundred years old. They are the only remaining elements that have withstood the test of time and are the only witnesses to events long ago. Like the pond, the mountains and the oceans. These elements cannot speak to us so we must search for those voices of the past to give us glimpses into our past."_

He stood up and walked over to a small box that was sitting on a back table. The old man stood before the box and placed his hands on top; gently he closed his eyes and sighed.

"Do you think they were here Grandpa?" Chris said.

"I do not know," he replied softly. "We have not found any evidence directly but the tales that have been passed from generation to generation all point to this location."

"I'm not sure of what it is that I've dove into by following this dream but I have a feeling that I am closer to where it all started. I have spent my whole life chasing after this. But all I can do now is to hang by that moment when I can prove that, "we", the human race, are not the only intelligent species in this world." He slowly opened the box and reached in and pulled the small wooden medallion from its place in time.


	2. Ascension

**Chapter 2**

**Ascension**

A crash of thunder echoed through the valley as the rain fell heavily to the ground. It had all but drowned out the clashing of the swords in the distance and the screams of its warriors that answered in unison as life faded into the nothingness of the darkness of the night. Every now and then, a flash of magic exploded from deep within the battle as carnage fed on every side.

_ "As we enter a golden age for all Gummies, I Chancellor Gumreias of the High Council of Ursalia hereby sign the peace accord, on this day, in the city of Beartamer and form a new alliance between Gummi Bears and the Human race…"_

On the edge of a ridge three shadowy figures riding their small stallions emerged on the crest overlooking the ongoing conflict.

"The battle draws near" Arida whispered.

_ "In accordance with the peace agreement that you have signed with King Balisone the Third, we shall dismantle all weapons along our borders and place into storage, all magical and non-magical devices to prevent a future of annihilation and become a new nation in unification…" _

"Your orders Sir," Said the one from behind in a low, calm voice.

_ "A few years ago, in the name of peace, we have opened our doors and our minds and welcomed our new allies into our schools of magic. Now let me be the first to congratulate… _

…_The first humans to graduate from the Magic Academe of Gummadoon..."_

Arida sat mounted on his battle Rama. His armor was heavy with sweat while his mind flashed back and forth along the pages of the past and he cursed himself for not doing anything when he had the chance. By locking the most powerful spells known to Gummi Magic and placing them inside the orb, it created the pathway to our own extinction. And now that Zaneris has been corrupted by that power, the orb is almost unstoppable.

"Zaneris has allied himself with the human King Balisone and our destruction is almost assured but thankfully Argumedies and the other council members had the foresight to place the key to the orbs full potential inside Great Book of Gummi. The peace treaty was hoax and we fell for it. The humans have always wanted our power and they will soon have it as they drive us from our land. For years I have warned the council that this would happen. Zaneris may be a powerful Arch-mage but he is nobodies' fool. Even before he was removed as headmaster of the school, the humans had us out numbered. We may have been able to slow him down my taking out his apprentice Zorlock, but he still has possession that human witch along with these abominations that they created." he spoke to his lieutenants'

As leader of the High council's new military defense forces it was up to him to defend their nation from such attacks and wore his new armored uniform with pride as it bore the colors and symbols of the Gummi Bear Nation. With the exception of the Knights of Gummidoon who kept to the old feudal traditions and the barbarian clans of the northern forests they had done their best to prepare for tonight's exodus to the new city of Gumbria across the sea. But deep down he wept for those who have been caught up in onslaught of this holocaust. He didn't understand why humans hated us so much. Inside we are no different from them. We have two eyes to see, a nose to smell the air, and hands to work and play. We eat, we breathe, we laugh, we bleed, we cry, we live, we love, and we die.

But they also grew afraid of us. Our power we possessed and our knowledge we have learned. We were a growing threat to them because we were different. We are bears and they are human. They have skin and we have fur. Humans stand tall and have strength in numbers while Gummies are half their size. But we are still the same when it comes to the influences of desire and selfishness and there are those of us who have fallen into that pit of darkness, lusting for that domination of control.

Arida closed his eyes and sighed "If only the council had listened to me, that traitor would have already met his demise long ago. But now, we struggle from the grasp of our own annihilation." Lieutenant! Have the council members made it to the ships?"

"Yes sir, with the exception of Councilors Wooddale and Berrybowum of Gummadoon, the other council members were the first to turn tail and run and the rest of the civilians are waiting for the Gumorison and the Berrybourn to return."

Another bolt of lightning flashed across the sky as a massive surge in the human ranks blew over the exhausted Gummi infantry.

"Our numbers are few but we must hold out until those ships return!" shouted the Lieutenant.

Arida tightened the reins on his Battle Rama. "Zaneris and Balisone's forces have broken through our defenses and the brunt of their human and ogre armies will be here soon. We must protect the last of our people until those ships arrives."

Sir Plucki! The south wall along the river has been breached! Can your bears hold the position at the gap of Berrin falls?"

"That they will old friend, no human is going to turn ME into a rug. You just watch your fur and leave the rest to us."

Arida looked back at the grizzly old bear and grinned "Good luck my friend and I will see you on the shores of New Gumbria."

With that Sir Plucki turned his Rama and sped off down the slope.

"Lieutenant, Gather what forces we have left and rally near the harbor. We will set up a perimeter to guard the last of the civilians.

…

"Lady Maria we must hurry!"

"Yes! Consance, I am well aware of that, but when you're with cub it's not that easy."

Consance held her paw as they made their way down the steps of the cottage to the rain soaked streets below. The only light they had come from the lightning that flashed across the sky, and they both knew that the fighting was closing in on the city walls. Consance covered Maria in a heavy cloak to try and prevent Maria's blue dress from getting soaked or muddy.

"Humph!" Typical humans, always thinking about themselves before anyone else; at least they could have at least had the decency to wait few more days before they came and ruined everything. That cub of yours will be here any time now''

"Arugg!" Maria cried, as she reached the bottom of the stairs. Consance looked back and helped her to sit on the bottom step.

"I'm all right Consance. "She" just gave a little kick" Maria reached into the pocket of her tunic and drew out a small medallion. Her paw dimly lit up as she made small circles over her belly quieting the cub with a calming spell.

"You shouldn't waste your time or your strength using spells. Said Consance, "He" knows it's dangerous out here and he's giving you a boot telling to get your tail moving"

"And how do you know it's a "HE" Consance?

"Because when you've been a Grammi as long as I have, you tend to know these things. Now come on!"

As the rain subsided, the two of them made their way through the muddy streets and towards the docks of Gumbria. They had just rounded the corner of an abandoned worker building when they found themselves in the mists of a huge crowd waiting on the docks.

A few lanterns now lit the area and Maria saw many bears. Some were helping soldiers build a makeshift wall out of broken timbers, others just huddled together around the few small fires that were not quenched by the rain, trying to keep warm.

They walked around through the crowd when they came across a young soldier that sat against a fallen log. He gasped as he held on to his side, his dark brown fur soaked in blood from a spear wound.

Forgetting about her own troubles, Maria went over to him and knelt down to get a better look. Consance reached into their satchel and pulled forth an old shirt to use as a bandage and handed it to Lady Maria.

"That should help." Maria said as she wrapped the shirt around his waist.

"Thank you he plied. I have seen better days"

"Well let's just hope we all see better days" "What is your name?"

"Sabearton Barbictus of the Brutetarian tribe."

Maria reached into her pocket and pulled out the medallion "I can take some of the pain away…"

"No!" He shouted as he slowly batted her paw away from the wound. "I am a warrior and have been trained to deal with pain in battle."

"Well! I see that in all your training you didn't train your blood to stay inside because you forgot to watch out for sharp pointy sticks! You're not in battle right now and you're not about to die on me today if I have anything to say about it. But first, we need to get you out of the mud."

They soon found shelter in an abandoned storage house. And Consance soon had a small fire going. Maria had taken clean, dry linen and made strips for bandages and began to re-dress his wounds.

"Consance, Go around to the others and see if there are any more that need help and bring them here," Said Maria.

"Yes ma-lady! But you take it easy and don't strain yourself!" I'll be back shortly."

Maria knelt down next to him and began to clean and re-wrap his injury. "Well at least it stopped bleeding," she said. "But it could use a few stitches." She reached and pulled out a needle and thread then handed him a stick wrapped in a cloth. "Here bite down on this while I try and sew the stuffing back in you."

The pain was intense but quickly faded after she was done. The fire crackled and popped and Sabearton noticed that there was a soft glow upon her golden brown fur from the fires light. She was young and very beautiful and her boldness earlier sent a warm but subtle feeling in him that he had not felt in a long time. But then he noticed the soon to be cub.

"How long?" He asked.

"It should have been days ago but he's being stubborn just like his father. But now I hope he'll wait until after I get to the new city." She looked up into his face and caught his gaze and she paused for a moment. But after a moment he turned his head and broke the stare.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing," He said, "You just reminded me of someone for a moment"

For a fleeting moment his thoughts had quickly turned a hand of time back to the days of his beloved Genari and how much he missed her. He had not realized that it had been days since he last thought of her and how the humans took her from him in their first assault as they burned and destroyed everything and anyone… in their wake.

The silent moment was shattered as Consance walked into the room.

"My-lady, we have more wounded to take care of. There are a lot more then you may have expected. But I do have some news that Lord Arida has come with reinforcements."

"Tend to the others Consance, I must go see him." she said as she picked herself off the floor and walked out of the warehouse.

A few minutes later she had found him outside a make shift tent overlooking some maps of the area and it didn't take him long to notice with little surprise that she was here.

He stopped what he was doing and walked over to her and embraced her "What are you doing here!" He scolded yet at the same time being very concerned. "You shouldn't be here! Why did you not leave with the rest of the council members?

"Because I couldn't leave Consance and the others, someone had to stay behind and help those who were going to stay in hiding until the return. Besides! I'm giving your cub, a first paw look at war and what not to do!"

He placed a paw over her belly and felt the cub kick in agreement. "I love you, you know this, but seriously, this is no place for either of you. Zaneris will be here soon and hopefully Argumedies will have two ships here before then and when he does, I want you to get on the Berrybourn as soon as it docks"

"I will, but right now Consance and I are helping the wounded so you may have a few more bears able to fight with you, as soon as the ship arrives we will be there. I do not intend to have this cub in the middle of a war zone."

…

The wind blew through the window of the darkened tower. A small figure stood in its opening as the glow of an orb dimly lit the small room. On its surface it showed the pictures of the battle and the bodies of the fallen that lie scatter on the field. It quickly turned and showed what was left of the remaining forces of the Gummi armies in what was left of the city of Old Gumbria and then to the last defense position of the armies of Gummadoon at Berrin Falls.

"SO, they think they run from me!" The voice rumbled as a small paw came from under the shrouded figure and pointed to the ogre dressed in its full metal armor, halberd spear, and shield.

"You will prepare our armies for one last frontal assault on the city of Gumbria and we will crush the last of the resistance and…"

"…And then, we will find the city of New Gumbria to finally unlock that blasted orb's power and unleash its full potential and destroy them completely!" a new voice said from inside the darkness.

"Patience my apprentice," Zaneris shouted, "The orb has gotten us here even if Argumedies has locked away its true power."

"Yes! But as it is, anyone could use the power should they get their hands on it. But only when it has been unlocked can a true master of magic such as you can wield its might."

"Do not praise me with your false flattery witch! They do not have the Great Book out of my reach yet. It lies in the city of Gummadoon and I need you to take Olaf and whatever resources you need to retrieve that book and remove the infestation around Berrin Falls. Then you should be able to surround the city of Gummadoon and conquer it with ease. They will try and make a break for the ships but if you attack now in their weakened state they will be no match for you he paused for a moment as the scene changed and focused on the fallen city of Gumbria and those who whom have yet to escape. "And then I will deal with Arida personally."

"It will be done my master!"


	3. Expulsion

**Chapter 3**

**Expulsion**

"There! That should do it." Councilor Wooddale breathed a sigh of relief as the final locking seal went into place. "Now all we have to do is to get the Great Book over to the new city where we can finish the trans-sleep spell."

She looked out the window of the Great Hall of Gummadoon as the last of the thunderstorm disappeared from across the sky and heard the battles off in the distance. She knew that it would not be long before it would be upon her doorsteps and shuttered at the thoughts of the consequences if anyone got their paws upon that book.

"It will never be truly safe unless we can get this to New Gumbria" she said to herself as she stood in total silence the shadow of the window. She looked down upon the surrounding city and those who have call this place home for many generations, knowing that this will be the final time that they will ever see this place again.

"Gummidoon has been one of the best and finest of all the cities in the Gummi nation. Even better then the Great city of Ursalia." She thought.

"We were the leading member on the Council of Cities and the home of the finest schools of magic. The pinnacle of Gummi achievement! She sighed," And the creators of its greatest failure." She thought back as she closed her eyes and a tear rolled down her fur.

Her all too brief a moment of silence was broken by a calm knock at her door.

"Councilor?" the guard spoke. "They are ready for you down in the court yard."

"Thank you Tedi, I will be with you shortly" she said as she wiped her eyes on an old linen cloth. She walked over to her night stand and opened a small wooden chest and pulled forth a small medallion and placed it around her neck, she then gathered the Great Book of Gummi and followed the guard down to the front side of the castle.

…

Olaf watched from his post as a small monstrous figure that sat at the reigns of a black chariot being pulled by large sinister beasts, darkened red and black stallions that breathed fire and burned the ground where they touched it leaving only ash and dust in their wake. Behind them marched an army of a hundred strong, soldiers that looked much like men, only larger, half human, half something of un-natural origins and all of them branding the emblem of Zaneris. They were the ogres created by Zaneris himself. He didn't know how, but they were a formidable army. Strength beyond men and unquestionable loyalty made them a fierce enemy although their lack of intellect left him wondering about their usefulness. Some say that their so stupid that they don't know when to even die and so they may live forever. Their armor was so strong and heavy that even the largest man could not lift it. But it suited these ogres well under their bone crushing might and that is what he liked about them. These troggles on the other hand were her creations, experiments gone wrong but he didn't care. They were now her slaves and they served her very whim. None of it mattered really. He was King Balisone's General. Duke of Drekmore. Why Zaneris chose to use his castle was beyond outrage. If it wasn't for that blasted power orb of his he would have slain that blasted Gummi bear long time ago. And now I have to work with that witch of his he muttered to his self as the carriage appeared on the road

"Finally!" he said to himself. The carriage stopped in front of him and the driver jumped off to open the door for its occupant.

"Ah, Welcome," Olaf spoke as he pushed aside the toggle to assist her out of the carriage. "I was beginning to wonder if that vermin was going to send reinforcements." A guard stepped from behind the chariot and growled at the puny man

"You would be wise to remember your place, or the master will be the least of your worries. "Bring the maps!" she ordered as she stepped forth from the carriage and walked into the tent. "I have new orders for you Olaf."

…

The castle grounds were packed as Wooddale and Tedi made their way across the courtyard. She saw that Councilor Berrybowum was standing up on a makeshift stage shouting directions for the others to control the nervous crowd "Ok everyone! Listen up! We are going down to the quick-tunnels in order to proceed to the city of Gumbria. From there we will take a ship across to the new city please proceed in an orderly fashion." She heard him speak.

"Councilor Wooddale,"… Councilor Wooddale! Over here!" shouted another voice.

Wooddale looked around only to find that it was her apprentice Umari. Umari stood up on a small box franticly waving her paws in the air. She wore her dark green shirt trimmed with light green lace today and Wooddale always thought that even under the torch lights she looked like a small pumpkin in contrast to her dark orange fur in this outfit. Wooddale chucked silently to herself.

"Any faster I don't think she'll need that flying spell that she was wanting last week"

"I'm sorry" But you and Councilor Berrybowum are the only ones left. Now, Tedi and I are to be your bodyguards and it up to us to get you two safely to the ships."

" Yes, I know this, but you were supposed to…"

Umari ignored her as she started piling crates and boxes into the back end of the quick car and soon the stack was so high it began to lift the front of the car off the track.

Umari squealed "OH! I just remembered, I'll be right back, I just have to grab a few more things before we go" she squeaked as she ran off to find more items to place on her stack.

"Umari," Tedi shouted, "We haven't got time for all of this!" But his shouts it fell on deaf ears for Umari had already disappeared into the darkness back to her house.

"Never mind" he huffed I will find us another car Councilor".

"Tedi was a fine young bear of dark brown fur." She thought, He had just graduated tops in his class from the academe and chose to follow the old traditions of knighthood and has now become a squire of the Knights of Gummidoon under Sir Plucki's command. This was his first big assignment alone and he was lucky that he could also watch over his over enthusiastic mate. If there was anyone who could tame Umari's wild side it would be him. They made a cute couple she thought but what kind of couple she didn't know. They had been betrothed to one another for over a year now but she'll just have to wait until next week's wedding to find out.

She stood there and watched as the line of Gummies with a worried mind. She knew that an all out attack from the humans was a possibility and that alone they might have been able to handle. But this alliance with Zaneris, along with this surprise attack from the humans had caught them all off guard.

The human part she could understand. Humans have always had a lust for power and greed combined with an innate desire to destroy anything they didn't understand.

"And what fools we were in thinking that we could change that. "Humans will never change." she thought. "And I will never trust another human again as long as I live."

Zaneris was another story. Gummi bears weren't supposed to be like this. Gummi magic wasn't supposed to be able to be used against other Gummies. But he found a way to break that security spell. She didn't know what Zaneris did to the orb that had corrupted them both but now, he controls one of the strongest of Gummi devices ever created and I fear there will be no stopping him if he ever got a hold of the Great Book and unlocked its secrets within.

…

Sir Blastus sat high in the tree as he watched the movements of the humans through the spy glass. Gummi eyes were well adapted for seeing in the darkness and he could see the fires and torches of the humans on the other side of the valley with ease. "Za humans are gazzering on za ridgeline." shouted Sir Blastus as. Now zat zis thunderztorm iz over, zay will attack any time now."

Sir Plucki chuckled silently to himself; "Sir Blastus has spent far too many years along the old borders of the human French alliance and had picked up on their loosely translated English accent. I don't think I'll ever quite get used to it."

"Good, let them come, the wet terrain will slow them down. It is unfortunate that humans cannot see in the dark as well as we can." said Plucki as he sat upon his battle Rama.

"Chief Torei of the Brutetarian Tribe and his clans has joined us; they are guarding the eastern side of the river and they will be our first line of defense, we cannot let the humans cross the river and get a hold of the quick tunnel exits. Sir Gumlittle, I want you and the twins up on that ridge line helping with the ballista cannons."

"What about Zaneris's ogres." said Blastus?

"We have a few surprised waiting for them; I will head to the wall for the first wave of the attack, hopefully the sleep powder will knock out most of them without too much bloodshed."

"And if zat doesn't work?" Blastus shot back.

"Then we show them what the Knights of Gummadoon are really made of."

…

Olaf sneered as he watched the woman in the carriage "How long do we have to wait here. We should have attacked when King Balisone did hours ago, now we'll never see what were fighting. I should have never listened to you, now they will have the advantage."

"Shut up you fool" said the woman. "You have a different mission, the darkness will make them over confident and that's when they will make their move, they will be vulnerable to the strength of these ogres even with the use of their precious Gummiberry Juice. I will provide you with all the light you will need for your battle, all you have to do is keep them busy long enough for us to get to the city of Gummadoon."

She reached into her pocket and pulled forth her medallion, "You may begin your attack." She sneered.

A magical light shot forth from the medallion and floated out over the valley illuminating the area in an eerie orange glow. Even though the bears were used to the magic, the light would remove the cover of darkness from which they hid as the sounds of marching men echoed across the valley. They marched up the eastern side of the river and Chief Torei unsheathed his sword as the battle line drew near.

"Steady" Sir Plucki shouted to his troupes as he rode up alongside the lines and joined up with him. A line of men showed up on the fringes of the magical light but stopped just short of entering into the open.

"Shields up, in coming fire" shouted Torei as the rain of arrows landed all around them.

"Looks like we'll have to draw them closer" said Plucki and raised his staff high in the air "Ballista's Fire" he ordered.

The men scattered as a barrage of huge logs shot forth from over the hill landing on top of the line.

"Ah-HA, Our sticks are bigger than yours" laughed Gumlittle shouting it out towards the humans from atop the ridge. "Quickly now let's get that thing reloaded" he ordered back at the twins "before they start firing their catapults.

The humans didn't take long to regroup and charged at the wall at over 400 men strong.


	4. Conflict

**Chapter 4**

**Conflict**

Tedi shortly came back with a second car with Umari right on his heels.

"We've got to go said Tedi, I just got word that the humans are fighting the front lines and may be here shortly. The tunnels won't be safe for long because they will travel right under their feet. Should they find one of the openings, there won't be anything stopping them from flooding the city streets by morning"

"What about Sir Plucki and the other knights?" said Umari worriedly.

"All I know is that right now they have their paws full. They may be our only hope as long as they can hold that path open to us. Come on now and get in. Commander Arida is holding the ships at the port and they are waiting for us but I don't know how long that will last."

Wooddale hesitated as she looked back at all the Gummies still inside the city "We can't leave them." She cried.

"We have no choice councilor, we must get the Great Book to the ships at all cost" Tedi shouted "Councilor Berrybowum will be right behind us and he will see to the safety of the others."

As Wooddale settled herself down into the seat the car began to shake. It quickly became a rumble while dust began falling down from the cavern ceiling. Then a growl came from deep within the quick tunnel and fear ran as deep in them all as they realized what was heading right for them.

!"By the great book, CAVE IN, EVERYONE, OUT OF THE CAR!" shouted Tedi as he saw the rocks and dust falling fast and coming up the tunnel entrance.

Rocks and boulders came crashing down around them as they scrambled for the exits. The shouts and cries all but drowned out the collapse of the city walls above the cave as they ran they pushed the line of gummies back into the courtyard.

"TEDI!" Umari screamed as she tripped and fell inside the entrance as the castle wall fell above her.

"Shie-ald-Go-met" shouted Wooddale as she cast her spell in hopes that she was in time.

"UMARI! Tedi cried, as he watched the rocks come crashing down upon his mate and buried her under a sea of rubble. Tedi was the first on the pile, his eyes filled with tears as he dug his way to her and was relieved when he soon found the blue glow of the shield and his mate underneath its spell. After what felt like a lifetime he had enough of the rocks removed so Wooddale could release the spell. Umari cried and trembled has he held her in his arms.

"Hasn't any taught you how to run yet." he softly laughed as relief replaced grief when he embraced her once more.

"Well, at least you will get that chance" she said shivering as they made their way back to the others.

Wooddale was also relived as she watched them walk away from the disaster. But she knew that they were not out of the woods yet. With the collapse of the quick tunnel, it only left them one course of action, and that was to walk to the ships and right into the front lines of the humans.

…

Swords clashed as another barrage of rocks sailed forth into the battlefield.

"Blast! That last barrage collapsed the quick tunnels. We must take out those catapults" shouted Torei as he dispatched another opponent to the ground.

"Send up the signal fire" he ordered.

The ground beneath the ogre shook as he tried to reload the catapult then growled as he fell into a pit. One by one the catapults fell and broke in to pieces as the mole machines dug their way underneath the rear line of the humans.

"You'll pay for that!" Olaf shouted as he smashed his boot into the head of a young bear that lay on the ground. Blocking several swords he made his way through the battle towards Sir Plucki.

Olaf leaped into the air as he brought his sword down upon the Rama's neck. Slicing through the hide and killed the Rama knocking Sir Plucki from his mount.

With one move Plucki grabbed his bottle of juice and drank it contents then bounced off the ground and flung his body at Olaf knocking him off balance in return.

As Olaf picked himself off the ground, Plucki turned around by rebounding off several nearby trees. He then swung his sword as he sailed past Olaf, cutting through his armor with blinding speed. Plucki turned, skidded to a stop and faced his enemy. Anger in his eyes and battle ready, Plucki prepared for this one on one fight.

Olaf was wounded but he didn't care. The bear may be fast, but he was stronger. He swung his sword down upon the bear but Plucki dodged it with ease. Another swing and swords collided and Plucki bounced upwards with an upper cut that connected his fist to Olaf's jaw.

Chief Torei confronted three humans at once but they were no match for his skills as a warrior, dogging one attack and parrying another he vaulted his body over top of the second human connecting his hind paws into the chest of the third. But then suddenly an impact from something large came from behind caught him off guard and Torei screamed as he was knocked to the ground.

He quickly got back to his paws as he stared at the ogre that had hit him square in his back. He wiped the blood from his face and he knew he had been hurt bad. That blind side attack had broken some ribs and injured other parts of his insides Ogres may not be the smartest of creatures but that they lacked in brains the made up for in shear strength Their numbers were dwindling fast and Torei knew it. His clan was almost gone; his son Sabearton was off fighting against the forces of King Balisone and what few Knights of Gummidoon remained here was also starting to fall. He knew that they were losing this battle. But he was a warrior and he would protect his people, or die trying. And what a glorious day it was indeed.

He dodged another blow from the ogres' massive fist but the injury's slowed him down and the next blow him directly in his chest knocking him to the ground.

Gumlittle fought off another human with his bare fists. He was rather pleased with his self at the pile of knocked out humans that lay at his paws. As another human charged at him, he grabbed the man's armor and placed his hind foot into the humans stomach then rolled onto his back flipping him over the edge of the cliff and then laughed at him as he watch the human roll down the hill. But his laugh ended as he spied Chief Torei in trouble. A massive ogre had him pinned to the ground and was about to crush him under his fists.

Gumlittle jumped to his feet and ran to the ballista. He mustered all his remaining strength as he rolled the ballista to the edge of the hill. He climbed aboard as it started to roll down the hill and took aim on the ogre. "Fetch the stick!" he shouted as he rode the ballista. The ogre looked up and Gumlittle fired the ballista. The log hit the ogre square in the chest knocking him across the battle field. Gumlittle jumped off as the ballista continued it path another group of humans.

The humans screamed and tried to outrun the machine but it was no use, several men screamed as it plowed right into the front lines and carried most of them off into the darkness. Gumlittle made his way back but as he reached Torei but discovered he was too late. The Ogre had snapped his neck and broken many bones leaving only a shell of the tribal leader.

Plucki squared off with Olaf as men started to run between them when they both spied the ballista that was heading right for them. Plucki used his last bounce to jump out of the way as his juice wore off but Olaf wasn't as fortunate and took the full brunt of the machine as it ran him over, carrying him off into the trees.

Plucki sheathed his sword and looked around at the carnage then spied Gumlittle carrying the body of Torei in his paws.

"His injuries were too much, he has fallen in battle. We can't stay here any longer" said Gumlittle "We've lost the hill to the humans and the quick tunnels are destroyed. We'll be cut off from the rest of the forces if we don't move out now."

"Agreed, I just hope we have bought Arida enough time to get everyone away. Have we heard word if the council made it through?"

"No. Sir Blastus is trying to get that information now, but with the collapse of the tunnels, their only way through is above ground.

"See if you can get word to Arida and inform him of our situation." Plucki said as he took Torei from him and placed him on the ground and silently said his goodbye to an old friend.

"Find out whose left and regroup. We must go back to Gummidoon and see if we can hold out there. They must not get their hands on that book."

…

Wooddale, Umari, and Tedi made their way through the forest. They had decided to scout on ahead for a path as Berrybowum helped the last of the bears of Gummidoon inside the city. Tedi had strapped the Great book to his back and carried it like a pack.

"I'm tired, can we rest a bit" whined, Umari "It's cold and dark and wet out here."

"It will be all right Umari" said Tedi "We must keep going, the others are depending on us."

"I know but still, I…" Stopped Umari; She glared at him as he cut her off in mid sentence with a paw to her muzzle.

"Shhhhh!" Whispered Tedi.

"You can't shush me!" She said "Why I…"

"Shhhhh!" He said once more. He whispered as he clamped his paw around her muzzle "Be quiet, I think I heard something."

Up ahead he saw a dim light as it moved between the branches of the trees and Tedi drew his sword from its sheath. Moments later the forest lit up with a blinding light and laughter fill their ears.

"You thought you could hide from me?" The sinister voice said "Hand over that book!"

"Pricilla, I should have known" said Wooddale as she made her way to the front.

"Yes my old teacher, I have come for you and the book. She sneered as she removed her hood and stood in the light "But I am no longer the little girl you once knew. I am now the Lady Bane!"


	5. Reflection

**Chapter 5**

**Reflection**

Sabearton walked into the small tent were Arida had gathered what bears he had left and set positions that overlooked the expected target area. Arida was looking over the maps of the terrain while giving his orders to his lieutenants. But he had an ominous look in his face as he read the news of the fate of the bears of Gummidoon and knew there was nothing he could do to help them. He had always trusted Sir Plucki's leadership and he knew that if there was a way out that he would find it.

Arida looked over at Sabearton and dismissed the group.

"Thank you for coming Sabearton, I'm sorry to hear about your father's death as well as your wife. Your father was a great leader and a good friend. But unfortunately, this puts you in his place as the new leader of your tribe. Your warriors are strong but are few in numbers and I know you would rather be up on the front line but I need you here as a last line of defense."

Sabearton walked around to him and placed a paw on his shoulder and smiled. "It would be an honor to fight by your side."

"Sir?" a voice came from outside. "The ships have arrived."

"Good" said Arida; Get everyone on board as soon as possible."

As they walked out of the tent they found Lady Maria still helping some of the wounded into a cart heading for the docks. Arida walked over to his mate and held her paw then placed his other on top of her belly "Consance, I want you to take her to the docks right now"

Maria looked up and him "No, I want to stay here with you"

"No." he replied. "It is far too dangerous, Zaneris's armies will be here soon and I want you gone before then.

"Ok, but please my love, take care. I will be waiting for you on the ship."

As the girls started to walk towards the ships the warning horn sounded.

"Blast! They're here already." Arida shouted and ran off with Sabearton to join the front line.

As Maria and Consance made their way to the dock, a flash of pain flowed through Maria and she puffed as she tried to hold on to Consance.

"I don't think I'm going to make it across, he wants to come out and fight with his father." She gasped.

"Oh my stars, let's get you back into the shelter."

"You'll have to go find Argumedies. He might be able to help you with this.

…

The ship had not quite docked when Argumedies jumped off the gang plank of the Berrybourn and on to the dock. A scholarly old bear of tan fur underneath an old blue cloak, he took charge right away of the situation on the ground.

"Quickly we must get everyone aboard as soon as possible." Argumedies shouted back to the crew as made his way through the heavy crowd of gummies standing in lines waiting their turns to board the ship. As he made his way up the docks he soon found Consance who was guiding the others in line.

"Consance, Have the council member made it through yet?"

"Argumedies, Thank goodness you've arrived, No, but we have been expecting them at any moment. But more impotently I need your help with Lady Maria, I'll explain on the way."

"Arida has the last of the Gummi defenses in place and the Knights of Gummidoon have lost the Berrin falls quick tunnel exits. All the other tunnels have been caved in from there back into the city. To make matters worse, Lady Maria's about to give cub. She's been asking for you to come to her as soon as you arrive."

They quickly made their way back to a small tent where Lady Maria lay on a gathering of blankets.

…

Wooddale stood her ground as she faced her old student. The seriousness in her voice echoed hauntingly as she whispered for the other to run on her command.

She quickly tossed her Gummi medallion at Umari "You must protect that book at all cost. Fair well my friends. Enshroud Conse-alous!" she shouted as a thick mist appeared covering the area in a dense fog.

Tedi didn't hesitate he grabbed Umari by the paw and ran deep into the forest.

Lady Bane laughed as she cleared away the fog with a single waive of her hand. She then tried to reach out for the book with her kinesis spell, only to have it blocked by a shield spell placed around them by Wooddale.

"Blast you Wooddale, You won't stop me that easy. Even if it takes me a thousand years, that book and the orb will be mine.

"You won't be able to break through that spell. This battle is between you and me. Your quest for power ends here tonight."

Tedi and Umari ran as hard as they could into the darkness when Tedi got hit from behind and fell. The Troggle that had tackled him was trying to pull the book free from its binding twisting and turning they wrestled and rolled across the ground and the book came out of the bag. The Troggle laughed and reached for the book but Umari got to it first and yelped as she realized that the Troggle had grabbed her by her tail.

"Get away from me" she screamed and turned and smacked the Troggle upside the head with the book. As Tedi got up he pulled forth his sword and the Troggle backed off at the sight of its blade.

"Run Umari" I'll hold him off. Get that book back to Gummidoon"

"Not without you!" she cried.

'I'll be alright, GO!"

He pulled out his bottle of juice and drank it. The Troggle leaped for the book as Umari turned and ran but Tedi bounced into him and knocked him into the brush he then turned and started bouncing after Umari.

Because of the effects of the Gummiberry Juice, it was faster and easier to bounce away from danger. He afforded himself a little laughter as he came in from behind Umari to scoop her up into his arms and bounced off into the night.

…

Plucki rode up the entrance of Gummidoon as Councilor Berrybowum ran to his side. He took one look into Sir Plucki's eyes and knew the situation was grim.

But Plucki gave him a cold hard stare as the years of hard leadership took over and washed away the last of his remaining grief. He knew that if they didn't do something then they would all be lost and right now, Gummidoon was all they had left. "Get everyone inside councilor. We don't have much time. It is too late for us to join the others. We've been cut off and there is no way to get there on foot. Well have to try and stay here and put up a defense. Have Councilor Wooddale meet us in the court yard in five minutes."

But Councilor Wooddale left almost an hour ago trying to find a path for us to get through." Said Berrybowum

Plucky looked down at him and then out into the forest "Blast!" was all he could reply.

…

"Icestorminos-torrent" Cried Wooddale as a barrage of ice daggers flew through the air; but Lady Bane blocked most of them as a wall of mud flew up from the ground in front of her.

She then sent the wall of mud forward and Wooddale tripped and fell as the mud wall crashed into her. She curled into a ball as she created a sphere of water around her body so the mud could not crush her. She knew Lady Bane's magic was strong but she underestimated her own strength to fight against it.

"You mangy old bear, did you really think you could take me on and win?" your hardly even a challenge anymore. You are old, feeble and weak' and I will gladly put you out of your misery."

Wooddale gritted her teeth as she mustered all her power "Real strength isn't measured from one's body but form ones spirit and I will NOT lose to you!

"Lighterono-Electro-Ballest Strike" Wooddale's eyes changed and grew as bright as white hot lightning as several small balls of energy started to form around her body. They quickly grew and started to spin around and Lady Bane could feel the power emanating from them. This was a spell that she had never seen before and she hesitated for a moment.

"This is a spell that is forbidden even for the greatest of Gummi magicians, but I will do whatever it takes to stop you, even if it costs me my life".

The balls of energy started to fly all around Wooddale then shot out towards Lady Bane.

Lady Bane cringed and cowered as the balls began to circle her. The power was so strong it felt as if she was on fire and she fell to the ground with nowhere to run. It was as if the rays of the sun were burning her as smoke started to rise up from the clothing on her body. The pain she felt flowed from the inside out making her body twitch like a tree branch in a storm. When she burst into flames, she could no longer hold the spell of mud and screamed as she covered her face. All of her spells quickly faded Wooddale collapsed and fell to the ground.

"Ahhhh, My Face! My Beautiful Face," Lady Bane screamed as she ran off into the darkness of the forest. As Wooddale fell to the ground, she laid there and slowly closed her eyes and cried as the visions of the past and the human child whom she once called daughter, cradled her as she fell into a deep sleep.

…

Moments later her felt herself moving and awoke to find herself in the arms of Sir Plucki. He had found her and brought her home to Gummidoon. He carried her all the way into the courtyard and placed her down on the ground.

"Someone quick, bring us some water." He ordered as he held her in his arms.

Has Tedi and Umari made it back yet?" she said staring up at him.

Unfortunately no. and I'm guessing that they have the Great Book.

"Yes, But I have faith in them even if they do not make it back. They will protect the book."

"I hate to ask you this councilor but can you complete the trans-sleep spell here in Gummidoon?"

"I…, I don't know" she said groggily. "Without the Great Book, I don't know all the effects of a spell of that magnitude would have. We may not wake for a hundred years… or even at all"

It is a risk we'll have to take. The humans will over run us by morning if we sit here and do nothing and that is a sleep I do not wish for any of us to have to do. Councilor Berrybowum will be here to help you" but we must act quickly

"Yes, I understand"


	6. Abolition

**Chapter 6**

**Abolition**

Argumedies sat next to Lady Maria and held her paw, "Consance, I'm an inventor, not a healer. I don't know what I can do to help out"

"Well just shut up and sit there and keep her calm, I'll handle the rest." She yelled back.

They have been best friends for many years and he knew her well enough that Consance was no bear to mess with when she got serious.

He reached over and grabbed a blanket to place over top of Lady Maria and sat there and did the best he could as the berthing continued. But in his mind he was lost thoughts of Zaneris and the orb and what a fool he had been in creating it.

Magic was never his strong point. While he could do some things with it as long as he held the medallion, he could never be the true mage like his older brother. Ever since he was a cub he tinkered with toys, always building them bigger and better. Soon his inventions grew but he didn't get much notice until he invented the great scope which enabled our kind to seek out new places and new cultures. With this he was able to chart out and catalog the rich and vast history that has been the Gummi Empire.

He also loved complicated mathematics and writing and had spent most of his life creating books and filling the great libraries about his inventions and the people of the world. He studied both humans and Gummies alike from their similarities to their differences and all aspects in between. But it has all come to a crashing end no thanks to him.

In the back of his mind there has always been this hope that humans and gummies could once again co-habitat and live in peace as they once did long ago. But the lust for power and dominance is far too great a prize that holds no bounds. The anger and hate that had consumed his brother, gave birth to the path he now walked. And the orb; created in the name of peace, it captivated that spirit and malevolence within his brother and channeled all of its energy and all of its power into Zaneris's ambitions which has led us to the great exodus and the fall of Gummi civilization.

"I made the orb; there must be a way to stop it" But his mind soon snapped back into place as the cries of the newborn cub filled the room. Argumedies looked down at the cub, it was a boy, small and furless and for but the briefest of moments he thought it almost looked human. But once again his mind tweaked as the bond between mother and cub was severed and one became two for the first time. Argumedies paused for a moment then the raised his eyebrows… "That's IT!" he shouted.

…

As soon as the last of the Gummies set paws on the ship, the Berrybourn set sail. Wave after wave of flying airships took off from the deck of the Gumorison as it positioned itself for an offensive maneuver along the cost. The Gumorison had several long rang ballista's and its job was to protect the cargo ship Berrybourn. But with the newly formed fighting air units her range was far greater than any in the fleet.

Arida looked over the coast line with the spyglass and watched the formation commencing "finally we might catch a break."

Fires set ablaze on the hillsides sent a message that the battle had begun. The humans and ogres were at the parameter of the city and the last of the old knights and new soldiers gave their all in defense of their city. One by one the flying ships dumped their payload on top of the enemy lines. As the sounds of battle echoed into the night, The Gummi soldiers fell back drawing them into range of the ballista's of the Gumorison and soon it began to rain the spear like logs fired from the ship in the harbor and instantly the number of humans and ogres dwindled to a fraction of the initial wave.

Arida felt the sudden cold shiver through his fur and knew instantly that Zaneris was out there. Then the sound of another warning horn confirmed his worse fears when he looked to the skies and saw the wyverns. A close kin to dragons, there were about a dozen of them, fire breathing serpents under the control of Zaneris. He watched them fly over the battle lines heading for the harbor. They tried to attack the Berrybourn but the Gumorison shot two more ballista's that quickly connected with its targets.

The flying machines flipped and dodged the attacking wyverns as the battle for the skies commenced. The Gumorison did its best to defend the other ship but the wyverns were too fast as they dived in and set the hull of the Berrybourn ablaze. Many bears screamed and jumped from the sides into the cold waters below while others fought on as the ship fell onto its final resting place at the bottom of the sea.

As the last of the wyverns disappeared into the night, the Gumorison picked up the last of survivors and the remaining airships. All Arida could do was watch as Captain Reedi stood at its helm and barked orders. Low on ammunition and galleys full of survivors, He knew the Gumorison would never be able to sustain another attack and could no longer wait on the others. They would have to be on their own as the order was given to set sail for New Gumbria.

…

"Come on Umari, we're almost there." Shouted Tedi as he reached back to help her up to the top of the hill. An Ogre made his rounds but he didn't notice them as he walked right next to them hidden in the brush. As they peeked of the edge of the hill they could see the gates of Gummidoon. It was completely under siege and surrounded by the humans and they watched in horror as the humans bombarded the walls with catapult artillery while bowman shot flaming arrows through any open window they could reach. Parts of the city were already engulfed in flame and Tedi knew that it wouldn't be too much longer before they destroyed the main battlements and drawbridge. There had been so many humans in the woods that it took them way too long to get back to Gummadoon.

"We must hurry!" said Berrybowum as he helped Wooddale to the top of the highest part of the city. Wooddale took one last look over the edge of the wall. She cried knowing that this may be the last time that any of them would see the city again. A burning shell all but remained of the great and powerful city of Gummadoon. Tedi and Umari had not made it back and they could no longer wait for them. Without the Great book she didn't know what would happen to them. Should the spell failed it would be the end for everyone and if it succeeded, it may become a fate far worse than death, forever stuck in it's never ending loop.

Tedi and Umari made their way across the ridgeline looking for a place to cross when Umari noticed the thick fog settling across the land. She tugged on Tedi's shirt and pointed towards the castle. The humans stopped the siege and watched in awe as the fog grew into a thick smoke around them and soon filled the air surrounding the city. Tedi pointed to the top of the city and they saw Wooddale and Berrybowum casting the spell of sleep. They were too late.

Umari began to cry again as the castle began to fade from view. As the fog lifted from the ground, the entire city had vanished from sight leaving behind a vacant field and barren memories.

"What do we do now Tedi?" cried Umari

"I…I don't know." He replied. "I heard rumors that there may be some Gummies hiding in some the underground glens to the south. We will take the book there" He pulled her close and held her in his arms and let her cry upon his shoulder. "But no matter what happens now, we are together, forever my love.

…

Zaneris was furious as he watched the ship sail out of range heading towards the new world but his anger became immeasurable as he watched the city of Gummidoon slip from his grasp as it faded into oblivion. His armies were leaving as Balisone started ordering a retreat. Lady Bane may have failed in bringing him the Great Book of Gummi but his revenge was not over yet. There was one out there that he despised more than any other.

"As soon as I rid myself of my brothers medaling, Arida will feel the full strength of my vengeance and I will crush him like a toad beneath my heels."

The orb grew bright white as the disk of energy formed under his paws and quickly flew them across the land.


	7. Exodus

**Chapter 7**

**Exodus**

"He's here." Arida said as he and Sabearton stood their ground. Swords gripped tightly in their paws as Zaneris closed in on them. They had beaten back the armies of Ogres and humans but at a heavy price. The escape ship had been sunk and only a handful of bears left, Arida prepared for the final confrontation as Zaneris landed is front of them.

Argumedies ran up behind the group "I believe I have figured out a way to stop him. He may be a powerful mage but even he has his limits. All his strength comes from the orb. He has not unlocked the orbs true power because he does not possess the unlocking spell. If we can sever the tie between them and get him away from the orb he will be almost powerless. But I will have to establish my own magic link with the orb in order to control it long enough to pull this off"

"Yes of course" said Sabearton "If we're lucky enough, I can get in there and shatter it."

Arida humphed, "Hardly, That orb is made of pure gummatheral, the hardest metal known to us. It takes master forgers and years of training to even work the stuff. My sword is made of the same material and it may be the only thing that is capable of severing that tie but I don't know that for sure."

"Even so we can't let him win. This war ends tonight" Sabearton cried as he took off running for his enemy. He leaped into the air and brought down his sword only to be deflected by an invisible force that surrounded Zaneris.

Zaneris then quickly returned the attack with the back of his paw to the jaw of Sabearton sending him flying down the side of the hill and across the ground.

"Direct attacks won't work on him!" Shouted Arida, "Argumedies, you need you to distract him I think I have an idea!" he shouted and took off to the side of hill

"Ok" maybe I can blind him with the sand." He thought. He grabbed his medallion in paw and placed the other on the ground. "Sandoumious Cocoonious!"

The sand around Zaneris came to life as it began to swirl around him. He smiled a bit at the feeble attempt to trap him in a sand snare. As the sand crawled around his shield, the orb began to glow brightly. Soon the sand exploded outward from the expulsion of the shield.

"Nice try Argumedies but you need to keep to your alchemy sets. You're as weak in magic as you have always been and I will enjoy watching you die as I tear you apart limb by limb.

Argumedies felt his body being lifted off the ground by an unseen hand and gripped by the throat "But why?" he gasped, "Why did you turn against us! You were the favored one among the High Council?

"You and Arida have become the councils little sycophants. You've had your noses buried underneath their tails for years playing up to their very whims. But now that I posses the orb and the council means nothing to me. They are but a stepping stone in my conquest of this world and when you are gone the only ones that will be left is the humans and they are far weaker then the Gummi Bears. But I should thank you my brother, because of you I now have the ability to rule over them for all eternity once I unlock the secrets of the orb. Now I ask you this only once my brother, where is the Great Book of Gummi?"

"If it were in your face like my fist you would know it!" Arida growled as he bounced and flew from the right side of Zaneris connecting with a powerful blow to his jaw.

Being cough off guard, Zaneris fell back and his invisible grip released from its hold on Argumedies body.

Gasping for air, Argumedies quickly came to his senses "NOW, GRAB THE ORB!" he shouted!

…

Under the makeshift tent, Consance wrapped the newborn cub in a blanket. "Oh my stars you could have picked a better time to come into this world she told the cub"

"Sometimes you haven't got a choice, you know how stubborn boys can be Consance" Maria said as she started to stand up.

Lady Maria you must rest please do not try to move"

"I'm sorry Consance but I must. This place is no longer safe. Zaneris is near and if he finds us then I don't want to think about what might happen. The bear you knew is gone and he will not hesitate to hurt us and not even your love for him will change that; here take my cub and get as far away from here as you can. I must go and help Arida and the others"

…

Sabearton got up and tackled Zaneris from behind pinning him to the ground. Arida bounced off a nearby tree and headed for the orb floating in the air above them. As he reached the orb he quickly wrapped his body around it but the orb did not go down and it flew around in circles trying to remove it's subdue. Then it let out a burst of energy that sizzled on Arida's face and stomach burning the fur from his skin and setting his clothing ablaze. He screamed in pain as he let go of the orb and fell to the ground unconscious.

"ARIDA! Came the shouts from the others and Argumedies ran to his aid. Zaneris wrestled with Sabearton but was able to utter the command for the orbs return to his paw. "Impactious" he shouted as rocks smashed into Argumedies knocking him to the ground and sending his medallion off into the sand "Repeleo Ose" he cried as Sabearton flew off Zaneris and landed hard upon the ground.

Zaneris got back to his feet and walked towards Sabearton. "Compresuious Crushoious"

Sabearton screamed as it felt like he had the weight of the world driving him into the ground he could hear the cracking of his bones as the pressure from an invisible weight slowly squeezing the life from him.

"NOOO!" "Repelious Liftousis!" Commanded Maria with her medallion in paw

Zaneris spell was broken and Sabearton could breathe once more. Zaneris looked with great anger in his eyes at the one who undid his crush spell. He reached out with his invisible paw and snagged her by her throat. In her weakened state she could not fend him off.

"MARIA NO!" Sabearton cried but he was unable to regain movement yet.

"Zaneris STOP! PLEASE," shouted Consance. As she stood in front of Lady Maria, Zaneris's grip was released from her body.

Consance held the cub in her paws and the tears in her eyes pleaded with him to stop this madness "My love!" "Please stop!" and for but a brief moment she made contact with him but it was short lived. Zaneris angered even more at the sight of the cub in her paws.

"Consance RUN!" Maria shouted with her broken voice.

"Lavitatious" Zaneris shouted just as Consance turned but the blow from the spell connected as her body. She was flung into the side of the building behind her and landed curled upon the ground unmoving.

Maria Cried but to no avail Zaneris quickly had her back within his grasp.

"You will be next" he screamed.

Arida finally regained consciousness; he no longer felt the pains of the burns; he felt his mate, his love was in trouble and that was all he could think about now, he grabbed his sword and charged at Zaneris.

Not to be caught off guard again turned his attention towards Arida "You're as bullheaded as an Ogre Arida" Zaneris shouted as another invisible grip grabbed a hold of Arida's body. "Did you really think that you could defeat ME! "Changeoumious Polymorphicus Ogreious!

Arida once again shouted out in great pain as his body His heart felt like it was exploding over and over inside of him. His muscles expanded and contracted and every fiber of his body was stretched thread by thread. His bones bent and broken as his body transformed. Reshaping and resizing, his mind stretched to the brink of utter destruction as he slowly became the abomination created for one sole purpose… to kill.

"Now he is MINE to command!" Zaneris shouted as he tossed Maria to the ground in front of the newly formed mass of the ogre. "And your first order to rid us of these pests!"

Try as hard as he might, Arida's mind could not stop the body from fulfilling the command of his master. He could still see through the ogre's eyes as he watched helplessly as the massive hands reaching down for his beloved mate and he could feel her body struggling, trying desperately to free her neck from within his grasp. Her cries for him to stop could only be answered by the tears in his minds eyes and the growing anger in his heart and in but a brief moment her struggles ceased.

The shock and sheer terror that the others had just witnessed froze them in their tracks. Arida howled and cried as he held the limp body of his mate in his arms. Already the magic of the transformation was feeding off his mind as the memories began to fade and feeding his strength. He could not stop it now and let the last of his anger come forth he concentrated on what little time he had left while he mustered up all his anger and hate toward Zaneris.

"You fiend Zaneris" shouted Sabearton as he tried once more to face Zaneris but it was Arida who made the first move. With all his new power and strength of the tiny ogre body he broke the commanding spell and tackled Zaneris to the ground and started pounding on him with his fists. Arida pulverized him with all his might screaming and howling at the top of his lungs

Argumedies picked up his medallion from the ground "Sabearton! We must destroy the orb now. This may be our only chance their link is weakened!"

Sabearton ran and grabbed Arida sword from the ground while Argumedies magically held onto the orb. Sabearton shouted a warrior's cry as he swung the sword with both paws like an ax on a log. Time seemed to stand still as a flash of blinding light exploded from the orb. A crack slowly appeared at the point of impact on the surface of the orb then the air began to swirl like the twisted winds of the sky Sabearton fell back and covered his face with his paw. He could see the magical energies being sucked into the crack of the orb. Zaneris began to slide across the ground his link became his chain. He could no longer hold onto anything as it pulled him into the orb.

Argumedies could also feel the chain binding him to the orb and looked over at Sabearton and Arida and smiled knowing that they had won and that his death would not be in vain. "May the Great Book guide you, my friends." and disappeared forever into the mists of time.

The orb heaved one last time as the unrestrained magic's finally came to a rest in the sand. All was finally quiet as Sabearton walked over to the orb. The orb had turned as black as night as it had sucked in the evil that was Zaneris. He then saw the medallion that belonged to Argumedies lying on the ground, then reached down and placed it around his neck. He knew that they must find a place to hide the orb someplace far away and under heavy guard. This thing was far too dangerous for anyone to handle and Lady Bane may still be out there. He looked over the battlefield as the light of a new day began to break across the horizon. He searched for the ogre that was his friend Arida but he was nowhere to be found. Without guidance, the ogres would be lost roaming the world alone forever. They must be hunted down and put out of their eternal misery. For if not they would become an unstoppable and uncontrollable menace.

Soon he spied movement among the abandoned city streets. Small groups of Gummi survivors walked about picking up the pieces of their shattered lives. He stared down the side of the hill when he heard the cries of a cub. He came up to the body of the Consance. With her last breath she had protected the cub from the onslaught of Zaneris attack. He sheathed Arida's sword, picked up the newborn cub and held him in his arms as a group of remaining tribesman walked up to him and informed him of the situations. Sabearton knew that the tribes must continue and they will need a leader. A soldier looked at the cub and asked "Who is he?"

Sabearton looked down at the cub and then back at the soldier, "He is… my son."


	8. Envisage

**Chapter 8**

**Envisage**

Gregor felt his way through the shadows. Alone in a sea of endless darkness, he searched for even the slightest speck of reality but nothing came to him within his grasp. It felt like being in a tomb buried alive in a pit of nothingness; a silent and endless void balanced on the verge of insanity

"Hello!" He cried but the sound came to him only in his mind. No walls. No floors, not even an echo to carry his words. His breath was as still as the calm before the storm. His hand shook as he blindly reached out and touched something right in front of him and like a bolt of lightning that flowed through his very existence, it broke the silence as it let out a scream born of pure terror.

Gregor woke up with the sound ringing through his mind. This was the fourth time this week. The nightmares were getting stronger and far more reoccurring then he would have liked. But with all the stress he was under, this was no surprise. With all the preparations to the suitors ball tonight and Calla's attitude towards it had not made his nights any easier. She had just turned eighteen and like my like his father and his father before him, the time had come for her to find a suitable prince or knight for marriage. It has been a royal tradition for many generations before in order to take the throne when the King, um… retires.

"Retires!" King Gregor thought loudly to himself, "I'm not ready for that either." He humphed as he climbed out his bed. He walked over to the wall hook and grabbed his robe and got dressed. The dawn had not quite come about and there was a bit of a nip in the late summer air and he figured that a bit of tea would settle his mind. As he made his way down the long cold hallway of Dunwin Castle he came to the doorway of his daughter's room. He paused for a moment as he gently placed the palm of his hand on the door. "I'd check up on her but she's probably not there." he thought. "I know it's early and I shouldn't worry so much but she's been disappearing a lot lately, running off to who knows where. Most likely she's been spending her time with Cavin. Cavin is a good squire but he lacks much in leadership. They are good friends and he may make a decent knight… someday." But she was the Princess after all, there was no escaping that. I've tried my best to install a sense of duty into her over the years but for the last couple of years she's been fighting tooth and nail with me at every turn… Just like her mother.

Gregor paused as he pushed on the door. The old English oak creaked as the door open just a crack and silently he listened for her breathing and was he soon satisfied to know that she was sound asleep in her bed. "It's those nightmares." he thought as the memory of that scream came back to him. "They've got me a bit jumpy in my old age." He said to himself and then closed the door.

….

As the door closed Calla slowly opened her eyes, sat up in bed and looked over at the door. "Fathers awake." she thought. She knew it was him even before the door had opened. She looked down at her friend as a sleepy furry yellow arm came in search for some covers. Ever since they were locked together in Duke Igthorn's tower, they have been the best of friends and this; they discovered was the best place for her to sleep when she stayed the night. That way if something did happen unexpectedly she could say that Sunni was a bright yellow teddy bear like many of the other stuffed animals that filled her room.

Calla lay back down beside Sunni and pulled the covers back over top of them and gave her that gentle teddy bear hug. But unlike a teddy bear Sunni was warm, soft, and very real.

Sunni was a Gummi Bear; A part of an almost completely secret society on the verge of extinction. Although they were probably as far away from being actual bears as humans are from monkeys. "It's hard to imagine that they were down to the last six bears." Calla thought.

There are Gruffi and Grammi, the last two adults who have taken the roles of every ones mother and father figures. Grammi she guessed was more of a title then a name. It has probably been so long since anyone has called by her real name that everyone's forgotten it so everyone calls her Grammi and she seems to be ok with that.

Gruffi was, well, gruff. He's hard to explain. A short tempered, stubborn yet practical bear; He's the one everyone relies on to do the fix and repairs of daily life when they go horribly wrong. Although she liked, Gruffi; He was in her opinion the most interesting of all the bears, except for Sunni.

Then there's Cubbi Gummi, who is like a younger brother to Sunni although three years later he is now about as old as Sunni was when I first met her. And Tummi, a pudgy, teenage bear who loves to eat and was more like an older brother. Well she wasn't completely sure if they were all blood related but family was family after all.

Then there's Zummi is the eldest and keeper of the Great Book of Gummi and what is left of Gummi magic. Zummi is, in her opinion, the balance between the madness and reality that is the "Gummi Way" as Gruffi puts it.

Their newest member is a bear named Gusto and his Toucan Bird friend Arti Deco. Gusto is about the same age as Tummi, only cuter, for a bear. It was Tummi and Gruffi who found him on an island far out at sea about six years ago. Gusto is for the most part "organized chaos with an artistic flare" A free spirited bear with a love of life in multi colored world.

Sunni was the only girl among them other then Grammi and Calla loved her like a little sister and enjoyed their time together. If their lives were reversed, she would be the first in line to take it over.

For many years this was all that remained of a once great society but thankfully they have found others. There are the Barbic's who now live in the old Gummi capitol city of Ursalia. They moved there because humans drove them from Barbic woods along the eastern sea a few years ago. And there may be some more Gummies who have survived across the ocean. She didn't know much about them but she heard that Zummi was up in Ursalia working on an old Gummi Scope and again made contact with them a few months ago.

Calla cuddled up next to Sunni and breathed a heavy sigh."Oh how I wish times like this would never end. I'm not looking forward to this ball that fathers got planned and I fear that it will be the end of my friendship with Sunni and the other Gummies. I don't like the idea of choosing some strange man to be wed to simply because of tradition. Plus whomever it is going to take me far away from here only to come back years later and take over the kingdom. Fathers not going anywhere I see no reason why he's doing this to me.' I'm glad that Sunni's here. I don't know what I would do without her."

…

Gregor made his way down to the library. He was starting to feel a bit better now that he had some tea. He always felt more comfortable here than anywhere else in the castle. He thumbed through a stack of books that had just recently arrived when one of the new books caught his attention "Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer" He settled down in the chair next to the fire place and started to read when he heard a knock at the door. "Come in." he said.

"Good morning sire" Sir Tuxford said as he entered the room. "I've come to bring you the morning reports."

Sir Tuxford was the kings "Man at Arms" in charge of security of the soldiers of the kingdom of Dunwin, a knight of the realm and most importantly Gregor's closest friend. They have known each other since childhood and like brothers they have been through many encounters together. And he felt that no one else was as loyal or as dedicated to the city of Dunwin and its people. In Fact it was Tuxford's family that proved that Fredrick Igthorn, who was Gregor's fathers' personal advisor, was about the overthrow the kingdom about twenty years ago and he was the first in his lineage that has helped bring the stability to our lands.

Gregor sighed, "Getting an early start on things this morning are we old friend?"

"Yes Sire. We need to inspect an incident on the northern borders and I would like to get that out of the way before tonight's festivities. There seems to have been Ogre sighting so I am sending a scouting party up there to find out what Igthorn is up too."

"Agreed," Gregor replied.

"You know your majesty; I never really understood why he is so adamant about ruling Dunwin."

"Who knows what really goes through his mind Sir Tuxford, but for whatever reason he has been an Ig-THORN in my side ever since."

"Well Sire I should get going he said with a smirk. But there is one more thing I need to inform you about." He paused but looked him square in the eyes "it's about Cavin. I'm going to have to hold him back from that squire's position with Sir Alexander."

"Whatever for?" he asked in some surprise.

"Well your majesty, He has still been neglecting some of his duties. I don't feel that he has made that effort that he promised me. And then there was that fight he and Unwin had last week. I say, I was rather disappointed in the lad and it showed a real lack of discipline or leadership. I don't really know what's been going on with that boy lately but it's been highly unbecoming of a knight in training.

"Gregor stood up and closed the book and sat it on the table. "Very well Sir Tuxford, I understand. Do what you must. Our guests will be arriving shortly and I have many things that have to be done. And with that, Sir Tuxford saluted him and left.

…

Zummi sat in his chair in front of the last remaining Gummi Scope high atop the city of Ursalia as he warmed his paws from the fridge morning air over a hot cup of Gummiberry tea.

He had gotten up early this morning in high expectations of the answer as to whether or not he and the other Glen Gummies will be allowed a visit to the island city of New Gumbria.

For the past month he had been writing in his journal of all the little thoughts and notes on whatever came to mind because he didn't want to take any chances anything not being written down. His memory had gotten bad lately and he didn't want to try and recall everything when he went to go write it down in the Great book of Gummi. And now that they have finally made contact with the other Gummies and it was more important than ever to get the facts correct.

It had been three years since they had any contact from the Gummies from across the sea, that is, until last month. Zummi couldn't believe he actually made contact with another bear that lived out across the ocean.

His name was Gizmo and much like Gruffi he was some sort of Gummi Inventor and with his and Gruffi's help they were able to modify the old Gummi Scope in order to communicate better. The scope can now send and receive modern Gummi words with individual letters that Gruffi placed on a tablet which made it much easier to communicate than the old tap code. And with the new ink that Gusto made for him, the quill could now print the message without fear of smudging it.

As the clouds faded in the early morning sun, a beam of light flashed across the sky and captured by the scope. Zummi jumped from his chair and starred at the paper as the quill began to move.

"The council has decided to send a ship for you and your companions around midnight tonight; singed, Gizmo."

"Oh my, this was good news indeed. I guess that by coming in after dark they won't be detected by any human vessels in the area. "But that means that they'll be coming right after Calla's party. Oh my, Zummi sighed, I'll have to hurry to get back to the glen in order to tell the others. But it is understandable after all because secrecy was of the utmost importance and the Gummi Council wasn't about to take any more unnecessary risks like they did three years ago."

Things haven't been looking good for the Gummies lately and everyone has been on edge over the possibility of the trip to New Gumbria. "It is a shame that the Barbic's refused to leave even if it was only for a short time." Zummi thought.

Ursa was a warrior through and through and as the leader of the Barbic Tribes, she wasn't about to leave her new home unprotected.

Gritti didn't mind. In fact, he and his brother Grubbi have been up and down watching over my shoulders waiting on this to see what will happen. I suspect that they really want to show off to a new crowd although they wouldn't admit it if you asked.

Gritti was a probably the largest and strongest Gummi that Zummi had ever seen. A proud warrior, he was constantly working on his physical fitness. Always saying that he needed to ready for anything although Grubbi told him that's it was more because he feels like a failure for not being able to protect his home at Barbic woods.

Grubbi on the other hand grew up basically as the camp cook. A job similar to what Grammi does around Gummi Glen. Zummi didn't know much about him but he seems to taken his job here a little more personally now that he has taken the role of care taker of the city. He got the job after Sir Thornberry passed away last year.

Zummi actually missed the old bear. He was a bit older then Zummi and setting aside the senility of course, he was fun to be around and Zummi enjoyed his company. It was a sad day for all of us. Last thing he said to anyone was that he was tired one night and turned in early. He never woke up the next morning.

The Barbic's are Gummi Bears, who grew up far away from all contact from their ancient ancestry roots. They were all warriors and proud of it. The Barbic's may outnumber us "Glen Gummies" by quite a few but most of their people keep to themselves, mostly out of distrust and rightly so. We've been labeled as "Human lovers" and in a world where you're raised to hate the humans any excuse will work. There's only been a few who we've been able to somewhat convince that some humans like Cavin and Calla are friends, but the others I'm afraid will never see them anything less than the ones who burned their home lands

"Yee haa!" Buddi shouted as the hatch door flew open with a slam" Zummi I did it!"

Zummi jumped in surprise at the sudden sound breaking his train of thought as Buddi ran and gave him a hug in youthful exuberance.

"I did it Zummi!"

"Dhat did you do?" Zummi stuttered. "I mean, what did you do?" He replied confused.

"The lamp lighter spell you taught me! I made it work. Here I'll show you.

Buddi started concentrating on the candle that was on the desk of the Gummi scope.

"Lummite ggumadumwnemow!"

He waived his paw just like Zummi showed him and... Nothing.

"I'm sorry buddy," Zummi said patting him on the back, "You just need some more practice."

"Rats!" Buddi said disappointedly looking down at the candle."But I did get it to work"

"Don't be discouraged Buddi, I believe you, you'll get the hang of it soon enough. Even I didn't learn this overnight." he said as the cub slowly slumped his way down the stairs.

Zummi was proud of Buddi for even trying to work simple spells despite the fact that Ursa's been rather upset with him for trying to teach Buddi some magic. Barbic's don't use magic and Ursa acts more like a mother hen when it comes to Buddi. Although he understood why, he "is" the Barbic's eldest child.

Zummi had spent the last few months with them all in Ursalia and after living her and the rest of the Barbic's he was happy to be going home. He wasn't sure exactly how Ursa found out that we've been practicing magic. Nothing special, some of the basic spells whenever we got the chance. Simple spells like the lamp lighter spell and he's almost got the hang of that. Neither Sunni nor Cubbi ever seemed to be interested in learning magic and Buddi has been so eager to learn. It looked like a great opportunity pass along something he felt important to the next generation.

Zummi's heart had been feeling low over the past few years because deep down he knew that their time on earth was limited; but now that we may finally meet the Gummies over the ocean who knows what possibilities this will bring. "Gizmo said that there are a lot of Gummies and they all lived on the Island in one big Gummi city, even bigger than the ancient city of Ursalia. "I can't wait to tell the others the good news!" and with that Zummi grabbed the message and headed for the stairs.


	9. Artifact

**Chapter 9**

**Artifact**

A broom pushed dirt along a narrow hall underneath the grand old oak. The dust filled the air. No matter how hard she tried the place never seemed to stay clean. But that was what being a Grammi was all about she guessed. "Same old routine, cooking and cleaning and actually getting some work done around here!" she thought smugly as she looked over at Gruffi who was busy fighting to fix a broken clock… and loosing, "Humph!...unlike some of us!" she said loudly startling Gruffi and making one of the clock hands go flying through the air.

"Thanks a lot!" he replied Now I have to start all over again." He shouted at her as he walked over to pick up the piece. "I'm working on this because I was going to give this as a gift to Calla."

"Then take it to your work bench, I'm trying to clean up for her party tonight." she shouted angrily smashing the tip of the boom on the floor; "and you're in the way."

"All right, all right, sheash!" he grumbled as he grabbed the clock and wandered off down the hall mumbling under his breath.

She had been planning this party for after the Ball at Dunwin for months now and she wasn't about to let anything get in her way.

Grammi stopped at the door of the library and swept up the pile of dirt. She rolled her eyes and hesitated for a moment knowing what was in store for her behind the door.

Out of all the places in the glen this room always seemed to be the messiest. Even though the party was going to be in the main hall it was high time to get even this place organized. She opened the door and saw mounds of books and papers scattered everywhere.

"Cubbi," shouting once again, "I'm going to need yours and Tummies help in the library."

…

"I'll be there in a minute Grammi!" Cubbi shouted back then continued his count. "48, 49, 50!" Cubbi counted as he sat the weight bar down upon its rest. Sitting up from the bench he grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from his forehead. For the last couple of years he and Cavin had been working out together ever since Gritti taught them about how important it was for being in shape. They even carved these stone weights in order to get a better workout at home. Now that he was 14 he could really see and feel the difference. His fur has changed colors over the past few years and has gone from being this bright pinkish color as a cub, to a softer, golden orange with a few red and pink streaks and highlights and he was now as tall as Sunni and Gusto.

He stood up in front of the mirror flexing his muscles. "Almost as good as Cavin." he thought. Cavin was pressing nearly 20 pounds more than he was but even that, was pretty good for a Gummi Bear; and he couldn't wait for the day he could our lift Gritti. Cavin was stronger but he was faster, he said to himself as he made several more poses in front of the mirror, "I guess that's the difference between humans and Gummies." He said. But he also understood the fact that now that Cavin has become a full fledge squire he has had to dedicate himself to getting in shape and stop relying on the Gummiberry juice for the extra strength. Besides, he had to cut back on the stuff last year as it had started to turn his skin blue. Cubbi laughed.

Cubbi put down the towel, grabbed a shirt and headed for the door. I had better get Tummi before he gets down to the boat docks if he gets there first it will be hard to drag him away.

….

"Land sakes, I don't understand why Zummi never puts his books away." Grammi scowled as she blew a pile of dust off one of the books.

Tummi sneezed and wiped his nose. "Maybe he's not finished with them."

"Most likely he forgot" Grammi said angrily. "He's been forgetful most of his life."

Grammi brushed a big pile of dust into the air and Tummi sneezed again only harder, losing his balance. Cubbi tried to reach out to steady him but it didn't work and the whole book case came crashing down on top of them.

"Oh my stars are you two all right?" Grammi shouted picking books off the pile.

"I think I'm allergic to dust." said Tummi.

"Ya, I'm ok too." said Cubbi as he reached a paw out from under another pile of books.

"Now we're going to have to pick them all up again after Gruffi fixes this shelf" Grammi said sternly

"Maybe we can put them in there for a while" Tummi said as he pointed at an old door that was hidden by the bookshelf.

After clearing away some of the books, Cubbi was able to open the hidden door. The room was small and it still had furnishings hand made by master craftsman long ago. The room was cold dusty and silent as the three entered the room. There was a small bed, a cub's crib, and a desk with a stool next to a set of bookshelves filled with old books and papers. Cubbi sat at the desk and on its top neatly sitting between two book stops was an old carrying bag with a small leather bound book still neatly packed inside.

"This place is neat. I bet there hasn't been anyone in here since the ancient gummies." Cubbi took hold of the book and dusted off the top and began to read.

"Seems to be a diary of some sort he said Cubbi. "According to these dates these are log entries are over 500 years old.

Sounds interesting Cubbi dear but right now we have to get back to our cleaning said Grammi. Well close this room up and I'll spruce it up later and maybe we'll get some use out of it.

Ok Grammi Cubbi said disappointedly and placed the book back into the carrier and slung it over his shoulder.

After were done here, you two go and find Gusto; He's been all moody lately and I need him to get ready as well.

…

Zummi started packing his supplies into the quick car with the thoughts and anxieties of all the preparations that needed to take place. He knew that Calla's party was tonight and everyone was going to be there and how this will have to be a send off party as well. Thankfully everyone decided that this will only be for a few days.

"Not that I blame the counsel" Zummi thought. "After all with the disaster that happened last time they came, they're not taking any chances."

"So now you're just going to take off without telling anyone you're leaving!" Another voice echoed through the cavern making Zummi jump dropping some of his things on the floor.

"I'm sorry" he stuttered as he turned to the voice and saw Ursa walking down the stairs. "I wanted to tell you but I was in a hurry to get back to the others as quickly as I could. The arrangements for the ships will be coming tonight and…

"That's just like you Glen Gummies! You're always sorry. You would think that a bear your age would be able to handle some responsibility, or at the very least some respect" she scolded "We didn't even know you were leaving till someone saw you packing your things.

"Well it's only going to be for a few days. It's not like we're leaving forever."

"That's not the point!" she started in on him. "The point is that you Glen Gummies just do what you damn well please. You don't think about what you do or how it affects others where as we Barbic's have to rely on each other as a tribe. As warriors," She emphasized "each one of us must be able to depend on the bear standing next to him in battle. And when even one of us fails trying to do something as an individual then we all fail."

Zummi knew that this wasn't just about him leaving without telling her, this was about Buddi.

"But…but… it's our individuality that makes us who we are" he retorted. Without individuality the Gummi culture would have never have flourished. Art, invention, and magic; these have always been the hall mark of the Gummi way of life.

"And look at where its lead you, your precious ancient Gummies fled like cowards! They trusted the humans and drove you underground, hiding like rats in a cave. Maybe had they been true warriors then it would have been the other way around and Gummi Bears like you!" She emphasized again and the pointed directly at him, "wouldn't be on verge of extinction."

Zummi was stung and taken aback at her words but remained silent!

"It's bad enough the influences that you Glen Gummies have had on us but these are my bears and they are my responsibility as leader of the Barbics. Buddi is a Barbic warrior and will grow up as a Barbic warrior and I will do whatever it takes to defend what is left of your mistakes. If I ever catch you trying to teach one of my bear's magic, I'll…. Oh, just go back to your hole in the ground and just get out of my sight. She growled as she waved a paw in the air, turned and stormed off.

Zummi was both hurt speechless; he had never in his life been the victim of such outrage, not even Gruffi had ever scolded him like that before. He knew she was upset but had no clue it was this bad. And silently he gathered his things and placed them in the quick car.


	10. Discovery

**Chapter 10**

**Discovery**

Dark clouds clung to the mountain peaks as the snow blew through the gorge. A lone man sat upon a horse at the lead of a long line of creatures that followed him up trails of long ago. Into hidden lands they moved like a snake on a hunt as they made their way through the snow filled passes of the mountains.

The army of ogres marched in undisciplined order and despite the cold each one followed their master like mindless behemoths. The epitome of brute force and ignorance, each one had lived for a very long time but under the leadership of the Duke they have the finally become a well oiled machine

"Hurry up you dolts! You're starting to fall behind"

At the lead of the army of the army of ogres was Sigmund Igthorn, Duke of Drekmore. He pulled his map from out of his satchel and studied the drawings. He was a tall robust man with a thick dark mustache and goatee; attributes he always admired in himself as a reflection of the sinister villain he so desperately tried to portray.

"Bah!' he cried, "we've been here before you would think someone could remember where it was. "TOADWART!" He shouted "get up here"

Like an ice-covered pile of snow, a shivering little ogre walked quickly to his master's side. Todie was the smallest of all the ogres that no one really cared about. He was more of a nuisance to the other ogres but at least he was fun to play with. But that didn't stop the little ogre from performing the undignified work of his masters bidding for Todie had one qualifying attribute of his own that no other ogre had and that was the inexorable ability to grovel at his master feet.

"Oh frozen Todie is here oh cold hearted one."

"Are you sure this was the right trail"

"Todie remember this perfectly right down to this very rock"

"That rock?" Igthorn questioned

"Yes" Toadwart nodded.

Have you got rocks on the brain we passed those same rock hours ago? You've got us walking around in circles you nincompoop, His anger swept across his face as he grabbed the little ogre by the collar. "Despite my best efforts to rebuild it has never been the same. It has taken you clods years to dig up all that stone just to even build it half way and I've grown impatient with you moronic imbeciles always breaking things I'd swear that you lazy bums have been sabotaging the projects at every corner we make.

"But Dukey every time we make something the Gummi bears come in and destroy it"

"But you haven't done anything to stop them. You can't even find where they have been coming from, which tells me that you're helping them. "It was they who took my castle away from me and now I shall take one of theirs from them and it will be they who shall pay for it. I know this Gummi city is up here somewhere. You told me this map that you got would lead us to my ultimate prize now get out there and FIND ME MY CITY" he shouted as he tossed the little ogre down the side of the gorge.

His shout echoed across the land and the ground began to shake. Igthorn looked up in time to see the avalanche falling from overhead. The ogres started to run but it was too late as it swept through the line as they all rode the wave down the gorge.

…

The car zipped along its track as it raced through the darkness. But no matter how fast the car moved her words kept haunting him over and over again.

"_It's bad enough the influences that you Glen Gummies have had on us…." Your mistakes…", "Verge of extinction."_

Zummi wiped the tear from his eye. "All I've ever tried to do was do the right thing." He thought to himself "But as always I have messed everything up." She is right I should have known better."

Even with the weight of his heart that kept his mind in the past Zummi's eyes noticed the faint light emanating from his Gummi medallion. He shook his head as he snapped out of his trance and brought the car to a stop and looked around

He noticed that he had stopped in front of a long side tunnel that branched off into the darkness. Curiosity got the better of him now as he climbed out of the quick car and made his way over to the entrance of the tunnel. There was old ancient trail that lead into its depths and Zummi noticed that his medallion started too pulsed with magical light the closer he got.

"I don't know what it is," he thought "but I should investigate. After all the medallion only reacts to Gummi magic and whatever it was has to be strong magic to pick up on it from so far away."

…

Igthorn opened his eyes to the dimmed light from above. He looked around and it saw that the avalanche had pushed them into a large cavern and covered his eyes as he looked back at the opening in the ceiling

"Drat, there's no way were going to be able to climb out that way

"It will be ok your dukyness faithful Todie has found doorway" he said pointing to two rather large stone doors. "Maybe it stairway to light above?"

Igthorn walked up to the doors. Each one was ornately carved with Gummi symbols but what was more intriguing was what in the world was it doing way out in the middle of nowhere.

He reached out and touched the door. It felt strange. Not unlike the natural cold of stone but something deeper, colder. It felt as if something was reaching back at him touching his soul, or even… calling for it.

…

The light became stronger as Zummi crept along the cavern floor following the light from his medallion. He started to hear echoes from up ahead and covered his medallion so maybe that whatever it was wouldn't notice him then peaked around the corner and gasped.

It was duke Igthorn and a group of ogres gathered near what looked to a large stone doorway with ancient Gummi writing. But he couldn't see what was written. He had to get a closer look.

Low crawling along side the trail Zummi hid behind a stalagmite. He was astounded by this discovery an ancient Gummi ruin buried under the mountain range let alone how Igthorn found this place. His medallion started to glow brighter and he had to tuck it inside his shirt to keep him from being seen.

Whatever it was behind that door was powerful. Zummi could feel it and he shook with fright. With duke Igthorn being this close to Ursalia was bad enough. Now he's discovered something that he had a bad feeling about, something magical, something evil and he knew he had to do something before Igthorn got his hands on it.

"Looks like an old Gummi burial" said Igthorn "That means there's Gummi treasure on the other side."

"You two", pointing to Gad and Zook "get that door open".  
"Okey dokey Dukey!" They said in unison and grabbed a hold of the door. The two of them put all their ogre strength into it but it wouldn't budge. Zook tried to get a better hold by digging his claws into the crack but it was no use the door wouldn't budge. Gad raised a ham sized fist and pounded on it when a flash jolted them from the door and frying the two of them.

Blast, said Igthorn uncaringly," looks like this has been sealed with one of those damned Gummi spells. We'll never be able to break in there like this."

Zummi breathed a sigh of relief "Looks like whatever is inside is well protected" Zummi thought to himself. "I had better get out of here before they see me." He started to make his way back the way he came in when saw a shadow of something on the cavern wall and it made him freeze for a moment but he couldn't see what it was.

"Dukey look what we found," A large ogre voice came from behind Zummi, "A Gummi Bear!"

"Oh my!" Zummi replied. He quickly grabbed his juice bottle and tried to run but the large ogre reached down and grabbed him by his tunic and made him drop his bottle on the stone ground shattering the bottle.

"Bring him here" shouted Igthorn. Well now, what have we here? Why is it that where ever I go you Gummi Bears are always right behind me? Not surprising anymore really, He shrugged. I remember you and isn't this convenient. Now I'm really interested with what's on the other side. Whatever it was drew you here as well. I can feel it he grinned "Now open that door."

"NO," Shouted Zummi defiantly.

"Deny me if you wish bear but I get the feeling that your all alone up here there won't be any rescue this time and I know you're feeling it too. You're just dying to find out what's on the other side of that door. And if you don't open it then death will be the only thing I will deny you."

Zummi shuttered at the thought of what he might do He was right about one thing he was alone and the look on Igthorn's face told him that he would make good upon his threat but took comfort in the fact that no matter what was on the other side of that door, Gummi magic would not harm a Gummi bear and with that Zummi gulped ha she held his medallion up to the lock and with a quick flash of magic, the door swung opened.

"Hold on to him may still be of value" Igthorn ordered as he took Zummi's medallion away from him then walked in.

The room inside was dimly lit by a light that pulsed in rhythm with the medallion. he followed the light as it grew stronger as it lead him down a small hallway where it opened up into a small room and along the back wall stood a statuesque figure of a Gummi bear holding what looked like a small orb that pulsed with a dark magical energy.


	11. Ascendancy

**Chapter 11**

**Ascendancy**

Igthorn slowly made his way over to the statue as the aura of light from the orb blazed in his eyes. He could see it and Igthorn let out a subtle maniacal laugh as all his hopes, all his dreams and all his yearnings rested upon the statuesque idol.

Zummi felt it too as if the orb was reaching into his very soul. He could feel the heat, the anger, burning inside of him. This was a Gummi power beyond any he had ever seen. He mustn't let Igthorn have it all. This was Gummi magic and only a Gummi should have it; "If only I can get my medallion back first" he thought.

_"The orb whispered "I am yours to command. Take hold, fulfill your destiny and the power will be yours."_

Igthorn slowly reached his hand out as the orb started to hum but it was Zummi who made his move first.

Zummi kicked the ogre that was holding him in the shin first then grabbed a stone and through it at Igthorn hitting him in the hand that held the medallion and getting his attention away from the orb. He wasn't as youthful as he used to be but he gathered all his strength and charged at Igthorn. He also didn't have juice to bounce around but he managed to duck and roll underneath his legs and grabbed the medallion from the ground.

GET HIM YOU IDIOTS! Shouted Igthorn, as he unsheathed his sword

Zummi held his medallion tight and cast an ice spell that slickened on the floor then jumped out of the way as the ogres slid across the room. He knew that wouldn't hold them for long he had to now make it to the orb. He dodged out of the way as another group of ogres that lunged for him, missing and hitting the back wall of the cavern.

Igthorn was furious and he came at Zummi with all his humanly might swinging his sword "You will not deny me again bear. He shouted as the sword crashed into the floor just missing Zummi's leg."That orb will be mine, this is MY power!" I will not let you stop me not when I am so close.

Zummi gritted his teeth. He could really feel his anger coming forth. With this orb he could correct everything. He could prove to everyone including Ursa that he… he paused as he got his footing.

"You're wrong Igthorn; that orb belongs to the Gummi bears. It will be MINE for only a true Gummi wizard can control such power." He charged directly for Igthorn and smashed him right in his gut and knocking him to the ground. Zummi quickly got to his feet, dodged another ogre and ran straight for the orb.

He stood in front of the statue his heart raced and pulsated in rhythm with the orb. As Zummi reached out to claim his prize he could feel the power within his grasp when the medallion in his paw started to burned brighter than it had ever done before. It shined so bright it blinded him and everyone around and he screamed in pain as his paw burst into flame. But everything soon became dark as something behind him smacked him on the back of the head knocking him unconscious

As the light disappeared Igthorn found his self standing in front of the orb and Zummi was nowhere to be found. Victoriously he stood there and again it pulsated as he took hold of orb.

"YES!" He cried "Infinite power and IT IS ALL MINE!" he shouted as a sensation of mystical darkness enveloped him. It swirled all around as the magic of the orb filled his very being. He had never felt so powerful in his life as if he could finally conquer the world. When it was over his eyes turned as black as his heart and he stood there with the orb floating next to him.

He let out a huge evil laugh that echoed down every corridor in the cavern

Toadwart and some of the other ogres' subtlety stood there and quietly laughed with him but inside shaking in fear. Others not being able to fully understand what has just taken place some of his ogres wanted to run.

"Now I understand why those blasted bears hid this so well" Igthorn said calmly as the orb floated as spun around him at his very whim.

"Now Dukey has the power to conquer Dunwin and nasty Gummies" Toadwart said shakily standing behind the legs of another Ogre

"Conquer Dunwin?" Igthorn quietly repeated as he locked his gaze upon the little ogre. Toadwart gulped and the ogres started to run in fear. "You worthless beasts," Igthorn shouted looking down upon them like ants. "You have all failed me for the last time. I see now that you have all outlived your usefulness." Igthorn's eyes stared angrily at them as the orb swung around in front of him as a blast of darken magic burst forth hitting some of the ogres.

One by one the ogres screamed and ran but it was no good as each of their muscles started to solidify and soon each one was frozen in their tracks. Igthorn grinned as he watched each one of them turn to stone.

Igthorn grinned as the orb settled in the palm of his hand "Dunwin will be nothing for me now that I have this but Toadwart was right about one thing. The Gummi Bears are still out there and I will need a new army. He could feel them, he knew where they were they lived as the orb showed him pictures in his mind of the City of Ursalia and he knew he needed to destroy them. "and once the Gummi Bears are out of the picture, there would be nothing in this world that can stop me." He sneered as he walked out of the room, looked to the opening and with the orb obeying his every whim he started to fly out through the opening, up into the darkened sky and headed straight for Ursalia.

…

Zummi grabbed the back of his head and felt the lump then realized that it wasn't just his head that hurt. Not remembering much he looked around and found himself propped up against the quick car then felt the pain in his paw. What surprised him more was the fact that it was bandaged and dressed.

"I didn't do this and I doubt If Igthorn did and that means, I'm not alone." He said and a quick glance in the shadows proved it as someone started to move towards him.

It was small about the same size as a Gummi Bear but as it got but in the darkness he wasn't sure but then remembered about Igthorn's little friend.

Toadwart is that you? He said as the figure walked closer but didn't answer. His heart raced as he grabbed a wooden stick and cast his flame spell on the torch and there out of the darkness stood a small ogre next to him.

Zummi jumped in fright "You're not Toadwart…then pausing for a moment, "who are you?" he said perplexed.

The little Ogre pointed first to his self then at Zummi's bandaged paw "saved you" he said in broken dialect.

"What was that thing back there do you know?" Zummi questioned

"Orb control mind, Make do against will. Gummi power, bad magic" Then he pointed to Zummi's medallion " Good power, Stop you."

Zummi was both astonished and ashamed. He didn't even realize that the Orb was controlling his mind. "But Gummi magic wasn't supposed to harm Gummi bears," he thought while looking down at his burnt and bandaged paw.

"If I wasn't in control then Igthorn wasn't in control either. And if I lost then he won and he now possess a powerful source of evil. I don't know where this thing came from but right now I need to get back to Ursalia and warn the others

Zummi turned and checked on the car. "I… I need to get back to the others in Ursalia will you…" he turned around again, "help… me?"

He looked around but the little ogre was gone.

…

The sentry stood at his post and watched the clouds go by. It was a bright sunny in the early morning hours across Ursalia except for a few dark clouds that roamed the mountainsides. He heard the other sentry walking up the stairs and got up from his chair now that his shift was done, he yawned and stretched and grabbed his spear from the corner where it lay all night and looked forward to a long afternoons nap.

"Hay Charli anything new to report?"The new bear said.

"Na, S.S.D.D. my friend" Charli replied chuckling.

"I would beg to differ with you," a new voice said.

The two of them turned and was shocked at the sight of a human floating in mid air outside the tower wall, then gasped as a spell of dark energy encased them both at the top of the tower.

"This is the start of a brand new day!" Igthorn laughed.


	12. Ignition

**Chapter 12**

**Ignition**

Gritty smiled and stood just outside her door as they talked. With his back against the wall he started picking at one of his claws with the tip of his dagger. He knew all she had to do was to get things out of her system; Ursa's always been thick headed, guessed that's one of the things he always loved about her.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore" she said as she donned her sword belt

"Hay I fully agree with you," He replied. "Don't get me wrong it's just that…"his words trailed off as the room started to shake.

What the… what's going on? She shouted as she ran out of the room.

As the shaking stopped the alarm bells started ringing. They both started to run down the hall when Gritti heard something hissing from behind a wall.

"Get down" he shouted to her as he grabbed a hold of her arm yanking her down to the ground and covering her with his body as the wall next to them erupted into flames.

The building started to shake even harder now and Gritty could hear that the building was crumbling around them.

"We gotta move" he shouted as they got to his paws.

Through the rubble and smoke they ran through the burning building and Gritty let out a growl as he smashed his shoulder into the main entryway door and driving his self through its burning frame. Ursa was right on his heels as the building collapsed and the both landed with a thud of the stone floor of the courtyard.

They both gasped as they witnessed Ursalia engulfed in flames as smoke poured from building after building and all around them the sounds of battle filled the air. As they ran towards the fighting they saw a round of ballista's flying through the air then as they rounded a corner they gasped when out of the flames stood a human facing away from them with this thing floating around him.

Ursa growled in anger and made her move first as she unsheathed her sword. She ran directly at him leaping in the air with a warriors cry and brought her sword down upon their assailant. Steel sparked on steel as her sword swing was deflected by the sudden appearance of the humans own sword. His move was so fast she could hardly see it and as the human turned to look upon her she gasped as she recognized who it was.

She recoiled and brought herself back to her fighting stance with her sword on guard in front of her. "Igthorn…" she said with flames of anger in her eyes

He slowly turned to her and smiled an evil grin "is that all you got? How disappointing, I was expecting more from you but I can see from the look in your eyes that you have many questions. All of which are irrelevant I assure you my dear, for you see I now possess a power far greater then you could possible imagine so allow me to explain you're demise like this.

"For years I contemplated and thought of various ways of getting things that are rightfully mine with the kingdom of Dunwin and through trial and mostly error I have failed time and time again to achieve that goal. Then one day I had discovered a powerful concoction brewed from the fruit of a plant they called the Gummiberry. At that time I felt that this would solve all my problems but; with it, also brought me even more problems from creatures such as you.

You who are nothing more than a child's obsession based on a fantasy realm and the legends of fairytales.

You who are supposed to be nothing more than mythological creatures dead to the world and long forgotten into the pages of time; you who have become a plague on my soul that festers like an open wound.

At one point in time I all I wanted was to conquer a kingdom, to dominate society or even rule the world but none of that would be possible as long as you and your kind still exist. With this power, I no longer need your precious juice to conquer a worthless chunk of land. With this not only will I take my revenge out on Gregor but all those who stand in my way. And with it, I will finally turn the Gummi Bears into the forgotten and vanished mythological creatures they were meant to be.

Ursa stood there in silence. The shock of his words had to flow away quickly. She didn't understand what brought this on suddenly but it didn't really matter, right now she needed all of her experience as a warrior. By his own words it told her that he was dead serious and this was the start of a campaign designed to destroy them all. This wasn't the moronic, dimwitted Duke Igthorn she had seen in years past. This one has the look of a man possessed by corruption who has come to the end of humanity grasping at his last straw. Only this time the straw has the power to make good on his threats and those threats needed to be squashed right here and right now and it's a good thing Barbics work as a team.

A battle cry came from over Igthorn as Gritty jumped from his perch. He landed two bear sized fists onto his head and shoulders knocking Igthorn to the ground and started pounding on him with all his might. Blow after blow he delivered to the back of the human figure smashing and driving his face into the ground. He paused as he felt Igthorn's body go limp, panting heavily in anger catching his breath.

But Ursa could almost feel the power from the orb building in Igthorn

"GRITTI GET OUT OF THERE!" She shouted but it was too late as the orb sent out a magical blast that made Gritti's body fly through the air landing him in a pile of debris

Ursa enraged, ran at Igthorn as he climbed to his feat and turned to face her and she swung her sword with all her combat skill but parry after parry he matched and blocked her sword. His speed was remarkable and she gave it everything she had and she was tiring quickly and that was when she knew she had made a mistake as his blade gashed at her shoulder.

Ursa clinched her teeth and fell to her knees as she reeled from the pain. Her held pressure on the wound with her paws but her shoulder was bleeding bad and her arm started to go numb.

Igthorn walked over to her and kicked her in the side of her head and she collapsed and fell to the rest of the way to the ground.

Igthorn slowly walked over to her and held his sword up to her throat. "I could finish you right now," he sneered "but I want you to beg for your death. You are too weak little bear. You weren't even a challenge for me.

Ursa looked up at him as she winced in pain

"You can kiss my furry a…rrgg she hissed but her words was cut off as an arrow flew through the air hitting Igthorn directly in his sword hand piercing his flesh making him drop his sword.

"You can just leave her alone" Grubbi said as he knocked another arrow and fired.

Grubbi had trained for years and was a remarkable marksman with his bow and with lightning quick reflexes, his arrows flew at Igthorn but he quickly out maneuvered them but at least he made his way away from Ursa. The power of that orb made him extremely fast even by human standards and from what he saw he knew he couldn't keep him at bay for long.

Ursa started to crawl her way across the floor in a trail of blood when someone grabbed her arm

"Come on Ursa you have to get up"

She knew that voice… it was Buddi he must have come with Grubbi.

"You need to get out of here Buddi" gulped her mouth dehydrated. She could feel herself starting to pass out from the loss of blood.

"Not without you" he said "We've already got Gritti. He and Zummi are waiting on us at the Quick Tunnel.

She gathered what little strength she had left and let the little cub help her. She loved him like a mother and was proud of him she wasn't going to let him down. But time had run out as Grubbi came crashing down on the ground in front of them his bow broken in two

They both turned to see Igthorn once again over top of them bringing his sword directly down upon them but Buddi was able to push her aside and dodge himself long enough for the blade to only hit the ground.

"I'm tired of you blasted Bears" he shouted as he kicked her to the ground once again "But you do have one endearing quality that I have been looking for. You don't know when to give up which is why I have decided something"

Ursa picked her head up off the ground, her eyes blurred and her ears still rang from hitting the ground. She turned her head towards him and lay there in horror as Igthorn used the power of the orb to cast a spell at her.

"I'll teach you to mess with me! He shouted as she closed her eyes and waited for the end.

Moments later she heard a cry and when she opened them she discovered that she was not the target. The cry came from Buddi.

"NO!" she screamed as she watched the little bear wither in pain.

Igthorn let out an evil laugh as Buddi began to warp and change. "This is what will happen to all who stand in my way! And not even the Gummi Bears can stop me now!

His malevolent laugh trailed off into what felt like eternity as cold shivers and ran down her body and in mere moments the spell had changed him, misshapen him and transformed him from the cub she loved into a horrid beast when out of the smoke they walked and joined their newest brethren and stood there in front of her as a new army of Ogres.

Her body wouldn't move and her cry's only shouted into oblivion as the tears flowed over her face.

"No. This wasn't the moronic Duke Igthorn she knew, like a possessed spirit; this one was far more evil and for the first time in her life…She was afraid.


End file.
